How is Windows 365 different to Azure Virtual Desktop?

At Microsoft Inspire 2021, a new form of cloud computing was announced. Windows 365 is a new cloud based service that creates an easy to access virtual PC, securely streaming the full Windows experience – apps, data, and settings – from the Microsoft cloud to any personal or business-owned device. With Windows 365, you can assign users one Cloud PC, or many Cloud PCs, that align to the work they need to do, and each Cloud PC can align to a different configuration of compute power and storage. Employees have been able to access a virtual computer for a while now, using the Azure Virtual Desktop service, so how is Windows 365 different to Azure Virtual Desktop?

The new category of hybrid personal computing

Virtualisation has been around for decades and was a gamechanger for many organisations, but it requires specialist IT knowledge and experience that many businesses just don’t have the capacity to support. Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a newer concept but again requires specialist knowledge from a dedicated IT team, as provisioning and administration needs constant monitoring and costs can easily spiral out of control if not carefully handled. Windows 365 has been created by Microsoft as a solution to these problems; it is a simplified cloud computing option where the back end services are hosted and managed by Microsoft, allowing a predictable per-user pricing model.

Windows 365 works for IT and End-users

Windows 365 offers a different experience for both end-users and IT teams when compared to Azure Virtual Desktop. For the end-user, they will be able to instantly access their cloud PC from any device and stream their personalised Windows layout, including apps, content and settings. As Windows 365 is streamed from the cloud the end-user will be able to access their work from any device in any location, and find it exactly as they left it (including whichever apps they left running the last time they logged in). The state of their cloud PC remains the the same, even when they switch devices.

For IT, Windows 365 simplifies procurement, deployment, management, and updates because unlike other solutions, it uses virtualisation behind the scenes. It’s easy to scale and the IT team can monitor which employees might need a processing power upgrade by looking at their CPU usage, straight from the admin platform. Windows 365 is secure by design and all information is stored in the cloud, not on the device, providing a secure working environment for users and peace of mind for the business. Complex security updates are taken out of the hands of the IT team as the entire back end is managed by Microsoft. Whereas Azure Virtual Desktop can have a time-consuming procurement process due to the flexibility of the model, Windows 365 is simplified with predictable per-user, per-month pricing.

We’ll be discussing Windows 365 in greater detail during our next ‘What’s New’ webinar on Thursday 5th August. Register for your place here.